Our most recent event explored the issue of safety onboard fishing vessels, and how the efforts of communication, legislation, technology and industry uptake can help make fishing a safer profession.
The panel consisted of: Katy Ware, Director of UK Maritime Services at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA); Denise Fraser, Head of Communications at Seafish; Clive Palfrey, Regional Safety Adviser for Seafood Cornwall Training; Kenneth Smith, Director of Hook Marine Ltd; Sean McCrystal, Senior Marketing Manager for Orolia Maritime; and John Clark, Skipper of the Reliance III fishing vessel.
A full recording of the event can be found here:
Following the presentations, Parliamentarians and attendees put their questions to the panel. Written summaries of all questions and answers are provided below. This page will also be updated as panelists send in written responses to questions there was not time to answer during the event. Please note that these answers reflect the views of the panelists rather than the APPG Secretariat or its Members.
OUTREACH
Regional outreach initiatives like Seafood Cornwall Training (SCT) seem more effective than regulatory measures. Why are they not more widespread?
Clive Palfrey said that SCT was brought about through a Maritime and Fisheries Fund grant and support from the Cornish Fish Producers’ Organisation. He added that training and advisory efforts in Cornwall can be seen as a ‘pilot’ project, and hoped they can be extended around the country. He emphasised the importance of communication and collaboration between different safety initiatives.
Denise Fraser stated that there are regional safety committees in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, each led by the fishing industry and focusing on the specific issues of each region. She added that Seafish is involved with all of them and promotes building connections between them.
Katy Ware agreed that the regional committees are doing great work, and added that the MCA is talking to other regions to set up similar models to SCT and encourage further regional committees.
How can ideas regarding safety enhancements to vessels be shared and communicated with fishers, and fed back to suppliers and regulators?
John Clark said that there is no one-size-fits-all solution given the variety in vessels within the fishing industry, but emphasised that skippers should be encouraged to assess their boats and make changes accordingly.
It seems the safety culture of the fishing industry needs improvement and strengthening. Are there any plans / initiatives for this?
Denise Fraser said that the Home and Dry campaign is trying to help make that culture change happen, through showing the industry at its best and using the pride and professionalism of good vessel owners and skippers as a positive example to follow. She said the industry has to be the driver of its own culture change, and so will need as many as many champions of safety as possible.
How can initiatives such as the Home and Dry campaign be communicated to more working fishermen?
Denise Fraser said that the Fishing Industry Safety Group (FISG), which runs the Home and Dry campaign, has representatives of fishermen’s organisations from each of the home nations, but acknowledged that these members are already safety-conscious. She said she was aware that there are people that the campaign is not reaching, and invited ideas for future campaigns to engage those who are not already explicitly concerned about safety.
Katy Ware added that the MCA is encouraging regional committees to feed into FISG more regularly, to build engagement at the regional level.
Clive Palfrey said that such campaigns need face-to-face engagement on the quayside, with online resources as a ‘back-up’ rather than a primary source. He said there needs to be more people on the ground.
Kenneth Smith agreed, and said the same applies regarding technology - if fishermen are able to see it and test it first-hand, they are more likely to take it up.
Do you involve fishermen’s family members, in terms of training or contact with regards to safety?
Denise Fraser said that past campaigns have included stories from mothers, wives and children who have lost family members, and a story of a fisherman who was saved because he had his PFD on, including the point of view from his wife too. She said the Home and Dry campaign launch asked fishermen and their families to share photos of what brings them ‘home and dry’, and found that wives and girlfriends were much more willing to share photos of the family at home and make that connection. She emphasised that these campaigns are not just for those working on the vessels but for the families and communities too.
We are a business who call the fishing industry to discuss safety procedures at sea and recommend our innovative products. How do you think we can reach wider audiences, especially those who do not engage in social media /online campaigns?
Kenneth Smith suggested approaching training companies, such as those following the Seafish courses, and getting in touch with fishermen’s associations around the country. He said the exhibitions run by the Skipper magazine might also be useful.
FUNDING AND ASSESSMENT
In terms of funding, are there any incentives for implementing or accessing better equipment?
John Clark said there have been grants for PFDs (Personal Flotation Devices) and PLBs (Personal Locator Beacons) and for certain mandatory safety courses, but there is no funding available for skippers to make improvements to their vessels. He added that in recent years there has been a lot of emphasis on saving a crewman after he has fallen overboard (which is excellent), but the same emphasis has not gone into stopping a crewman falling overboard in the first place.
Katy Ware said that the two-year phase-in following the introduction of MSN 1871 in October 2017 allowed owners to access the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund to purchase PLBs, Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons and liferafts before they became mandatory. She said this model is likely to be followed for future changes to regulations too.
John Clark’s presentation showed what can be done to make vessels safe. How can we raise this approach among all skippers - especially pre-empting safety issues before they arise?
John Clark said that better onboard training can help skippers and crew build the skills needed to assess the risks of dangerous practices and put measures in place to stop them happening.
Denise Fraser said that the plan for Home and Dry’s MOB prevention campaign is to find people like John who are happy to tell their story. She acknowledged that messages are more powerful when fishermen hear from other fishermen, so the more champions of safety that can be found to demonstrate best practice, the better.
Every fishing vessel is different but is there any sort of generic risk assessment template filled out, or a vessel/crew safety checklist?
John Clark said that the fishing industry largely uses the SafetyFolder online tool, which has various risk assessments and crew safety checklists, but added that there is a need to further recognise differences between vessels and the need for bespoke assessments.
Katy Ware also advocated the SafetyFolder, and added that Seafish have produced a paper version as well. She also drew attention to the MCA’s new fishermen safety guide.
STABILITY AND MEN OVERBOARD
There is a lot of great work taking place promoting the use of lifejackets, but should there be more effort and funding to address the underlying safety issue of stability?
Katy Ware said that the MCA agrees that the fundamental issue is stopping people going in the water in the first place. She said 3,000 PFDs had been provided since 2013, but this doesn’t necessarily change crew behaviour. MOB (man overboard) exercises help address the need for behaviour as well as educating on cold water shock and recovery - these training exercises are being supported by funding from Trinity House. She said the ILO-188 risk assessment includes surveying the key points on a vessel where a MOB incident could occur.
John Clark emphasised that fishing sees more fatalities than any other industry, and related that anyone working at height (e.g. in the oil and gas industry) will wear harnesses, but this is not the norm in fishing - an issue that should be addressed.
Sean McCrystal added that as well avoiding MOB, detecting MOB (via Search and Rescue beacons) was also crucial. He said that in the leisure industry and in the oil and gas sector, legislation for these beacons is saving lives, but such regulations are not seen in fishing.
Denise Fraser said that the Home and Dry campaign would be focusing on messaging about preventing MOB in the coming months, with the aim of emphasising in simple terms how skippers can reduce risk. She said there is an important role for safety proponent skippers (such as John Clark) in demonstrating to others how to integrate good practice into the profession.
What regulations / equipment are in place in terms of reaching a man overboard?
Katy Ware said there are three Codes of Practice for vessels of different lengths (MSN 1871, MSN 1872, MSN 1873), that require a vessel’s crew to undertake drills in MOB recovery, This is conducted when the MCA conducts a survey of the vessel, and is necessary for the vessel to receive a Safety Certificate. She added that vessels over 15 metres (and likely under-15m vessels in the near future too) are required to have a means of recovering a MOB. Guidance on choosing relevant equipment is found in MGN 570, and in the MCA’s fishermen safety guide.
She emphasised that preventing MOB is by far the most preferable scenario. She said the MCA now requires fishermen to wear PFDs or lifelines unless they have conducted a written risk assessment and eliminated the risk of going overboard. MCA also discusses areas of risk with crew during surveys.
Denise Fraser added that a project from the Northern Ireland Fishing Safety Committee a couple of years ago had involved giving out rope ladders to every vessel to aid MOB recovery. She also emphasised the importance of carrying out regular drills so that everyone knows what to do in an emergency situation.
With regards to the ‘slow roll’ that can make vessels more likely to capsize, are there any ways of detecting this build-up before it becomes too late?
Katy Ware said that from a regulator’s perspective, it is essential to address stability before the vessel leaves port. She said that understanding a vessel’s stability prior to departure is important, and that stability monitoring at sea is useful but should not be used to push vessels to their limits.
Kenneth Smith said that assessing stability at sea could be key to large-scale safety improvements, given that vessels rarely sink in port. He said that monitoring devices take into account the changes to stability during the voyage, such as fuel, catch and so on. He said that an early-warning system for risk of capsize can help save lives.
Clive Palfrey agreed that there is useful technology that constantly monitors stability at sea, and added that as an industry there needs to be more awareness of vessels’ capabilities to avoid capsizing and maintain stability throughout.
Is it possible to look at margins of safety for vessel stability, given that many incidents are the result of gear interaction with the seabed? Maintaining stability during the course of the trip is important given that vessels will be operating fishing gear, loading and storing catch, all of which change the vessels stability credentials.
Katy Ware said that larger fishing vessels are required to have a Stability Information Book in accordance with MGN 281, which provides a list of loading conditions for stability criteria, and gives information about the structure and underlying stability of the vessel. The proposed revised Fishing Vessel Code of Practice would require the same for under-12m vessels most at risk of capsizing.
She noted that new vessels less at risk of capsizing will need to comply with alternative stability criteria, such as an offset load test and roll test. Existing vessels would need to undergo a roll or heel test to assess their stability. A Wolfson Stability Notice provides simple loading guidance for vessels that do not need a Stability Information Book.
Kenneth Smith said that procedure should first involve measuring stability at sea before hauling commences to ensure there are enough stability reserves to account for a trawl net stuck on the seabed, for instance, and said the SeaWise monitor can perform this. He mentioned the FV Nancy Glen, a vessel that had modified with a much heavier crane, leading to much lower stability and contributing to its capsizing, as an instance where a SeaWise unit could have predicted such a loss of stability.